Bishop Gregory Davis went from fat to fit

SHADED INTRO STATEMENT

Bishop Greg Davis is a living example of the power that faith and determination can have in our lives. This week, the 50-year-old author, recording artist, producer and Impact Network host, who once topped the scale at 248 pounds, agreed to share his own personal weight loss journey with our readers in the hope that they too will be inspired to bring their bodies into the Divine Order of God.

These are his words. This is his story. - Editor

The Tradition

It was a tradition . . . two fried, smothered pork chops, a double side of rice, candied yams, black-eyed peas, macaroni and cheese, with a side of barbecue sauce. I topped it off with a large sweet tea. I ate this every Wednesday before Bible Class. It is a wonder that I could get up, stand up in the pulpit, and teach with such power and anointing after physically being weighed down with all this food. But this was not just a “Wednesday Ritual.” No, I ate all sorts of fried foods and cake.

I thought I was doing my body a favor by drinking Sprite because there was nothing wrong with clear sodas. So I thought! I did this for several years, not taking any consideration or thought to what damage I could be doing to my body.

THE TIPPING POINT

I was obese, tipping the scales at 248 pounds. And sadly, it did not matter to me. Like most people, things did not really hit home for me until something happened. For me, that something was type 2 diabetes.

DODGING DIABETES

As is the case with most people, a change in my body’s normal ‘state’ caused me to seek advice from my doctor, whose tests confirmed that I had type 2 diabetes.

Although medication is always the recommended course of treatment in cases of hyper-elevated blood sugar levels like mine, I chose to address my weight-induced diabetes head on — through exercise and lifestyle changes alone.

It was a risky decision that required immediate changes in my everyday habits. So I went to work.

DOCTORS ORDERS

I began the process listening to my doctor’s advice to start eating good foods and eliminating the unhealthy habits. I was given a list of foods to avoid, proper portion control, and an exercise routine that needed to be followed despite the demands associated with my ministry, TV show, radio appearances and travel.

Although it was extremely difficult, I followed his guidelines daily. By my next doctor’s visit, my blood sugar had dropped down within a normal range thanks to my 15 pound weight loss.

A DISCIPLINED DISCIPLE

The urgency of my medical condition required incredible self discipline devoid of excuses and days off.

Over time, I learned to embrace it and make it my friend. And, as a result, I’ve only missed 5 days of exercise since I began my quest. While it wasn’t always the case, exercise has become an enjoyable part of my daily life.

I’ve also learned better self-control. I choose not to 'reward' myself with unhealthy snacks or succumb to days of eating whatever I want.

Of course, I’ve been tempted to stray, but my commitment (and fear) kept me focused. Breaks in routines only lead to temptation, which threatens to disrupt success.

SWAG

Discipline is required in all aspects of life. Never take a day off from doing the right thing and you will be rewarded. I’ve ditched old habits and acquired new swag.

For the first time in many years, I’m able to buy clothes off the rack. I enjoy clearer thought, easier breathing, and don’t experience chest pain or tightening before or after preaching.

The Choice is Easy

I travel several times weekly without the luxury of a personal chef or access to a kitchen stocked with fresh foods, so I have learned to make good food selections when eating out. I typically eat oatmeal for breakfast, plenty of salads, chicken and salmon for my meals. Snacks consist of nuts and graham crackers with fruit in moderation.

I’ve learned that restaurants will respond to food preparation requests, but you do have to speak up and ask.

Switch up Your Routine

Exercising in different locations and in different ways is necessary for me because I bore easily. I focus on a combination of walking and running on the treadmill, the elliptical machine and outdoor exercise. Changes in scenery keep my interest and make it easier to stick to a daily routine.

Find out what works for you and stick with it. You can do it!

Strive for Success

When you feel challenged, it is good to remind yourself that God left you here with a purpose. There is vision on the inside of you. There is destiny inside of you. And you will succeed against the odds. I did, and you can, too. 

There are plenty of exercise misconceptions out in the world, some of which may be holding you back from your best body.

Do the following 5 exercise myths sound familiar? This may be exactly what you need to hear.

1) Exercise on an empty stomach burns more fat.

This theory says that if there's no fuel in your body to burn then you'll end up burning fat, but research has proven otherwise. Instead of pulling the energy from stored fat, there's a better chance that your body will look to energy in your bloodstream and muscle stores. Further drawbacks to exercising on an empty stomach include shortened workouts due to lack of stamina, and dizziness or nausea from low blood sugar.

Instead of going hungry, enjoy a small, nutritious snack about 90 minutes before you exercise.

2) Cardio is more effective for weight loss than weights.

For some reason women seem to love the idea that they will burn more fat by running on a treadmill than by lifting dumbbells. Sorry ladies, but cardio alone is never as effective as a routine that also includes resistance training. Strength training is essential for building lean tissue, which increases your metabolism and decreases your body fat.

If your goal is weight loss, then make friends with some dumbbells.

3) If you exercise enough, then you can eat anything you want.

This myth makes me cringe, as I've seen so many people throw away their hard-earned fitness results by overeating. Even if you exercise daily at an intense rate, your diet still matters. To top it off, most people overestimate how many calories they burn as well as underestimating how many calories they are eating. This can be a fattening combo.

For best results, maintain a calorie-controlled diet filled with fresh, wholesome ingredients.

4) For optimal fat burn, exercise longer at a low intensity.

Wouldn't it be nice if this one were true? Then instead of pushing it hard in the gym we could all simply go for a nice, long stroll to burn fat. Umm, usually if something sounds too good to be true, that's because it is too good to be true.

Intensity matters when it comes to getting great results, so challenge yourself.

5) Unless you exercise often, exercise is a waste of time.

I hear this myth in the form of an excuse from people who haven't started an exercise program due to the idea that they won't be able to exercise enough to make it count. Research continues to prove that any exercise is better than zero exercise. So you can only exercise once a week? Do it.

Any exercise is better than zero exercise.

Editor’s note: To reach author and fitness consultant Sterling Wise call 313.444.9348. 

A class of medications commonly prescribed to lower blood sugar in diabetic patients appears to protect them from developing heart failure, according to a study at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

“People with diabetes are at risk for developing heart failure,” says Henry Ford researcher and cardiologist David Lanfear, M.D., lead author of the study. “Diabetic adults die of heart disease two to four times more than those without diabetes.

“Our study data suggest that diabetic patients taking a particular class of medications are less likely to develop heart failure,” adds Dr. Lanfear.

The results were presented March 10 at the American College of Cardiology’s annual meeting in San Francisco.

There are more than 25 million adults and children in the U.S. with diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. The ADA estimates that nearly 80 million people may be pre-diabetic, with nearly two million new cases diagnosed in adults in 2010. In 2007, diabetes contributed to a total of 231,404 deaths.

The retrospective study looked at 4,427 diabetic patients who were taking blood-sugar-lowering medications at Henry Ford Hospital between January 1, 2000 and July 1, 2012. Of these patients, 1,488 were taking GLP-1 medications (glucagon-like peptide-1 analogs and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors) and 2,939 were not.

Over an observation time of 663 days, there were 281 hospitalizations, of which 184 were due to heart failure, and 158 deaths.

Results were adjusted for factors such as gender, age, race, coronary disease, heart failure, duration of diabetes, and the number of anti-diabetic medications, in order to identify the effect specifically attributable to taking GLP-1 medications. The researchers also looked at hospitalizations and deaths from all causes.

Use of GLP1 medications was associated with a reduced risk of hospitalization for heart failure or any other reason, as well as fewer deaths.

“These preliminary results look very promising,” says Dr. Lanfear. “However this was a retrospective study and this subject needs further investigation.”

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and Henry Ford Health System.

By Darralyn Hutson

No alarm clock rang this morning, yet I jumped up at 4:30am bursting with energy. The same aches and pains but less in some way. My first act of the morning, pop open that fresh bottle of cold water… ahh. I have to keep it in my head that something done for 21 days becomes a habit. So they say. I cross my calendar in purple marker, indicating that I just completed day 6 of my juice fast. Going six days without eating will really bring some insight to your life.

“Why?” Most people give that response when I tell them that I’m juicing and withholding solid foods for a long period of time. The next response, “Is that healthy?” I’ve learned to never really challenge people on the way that they eat or the definition of what is “healthy”,  especially my circle of family and friends. For me, I needed to change my life. Yes I want to shed 100 lbs off my frame so that I can move like I believe I want to move. For me, it’s more that that.

I want to cleanse myself of what I’ve become. And it’s been a long time since I’ve done something out the box. Nobody in my neighborhood is cleansing. Doing the juice-only thing has been relatively easy thus far. Because I’ve done a fast before, I knew what to expect in the first few days. Those are like boot camp in the world of fasting. They are hard on your mind, your body and soul. It’s a shock to not eat.

Think about it. Our entire beings are revolved around the preparation and consumption of food. My family and I love to cook and we love to eat. That’s nothing new, right? But the more I learned about my family, the more I realized that back in the day, we use to be small. All my aunts were small, my uncles were skinny and no body had money to eat out. I’m kinda taking it back to the old school for a little while to see what my really family booty, hips, feet and breasts looks like, not this flabby hanging frame I got.

My real body.

So, six days ago, I started a personal challenge to juice my meals for 60 days and eat raw fruits and veggies afterward for another 30. Throwing in an extra 9 days to make the transition to a vegan lifestyle will make it a 99 days personal challenge.

Thank God for youtube because I was encouraged by others videos that it could be done and that there were transformations out there. It was were I started.  That led me to blogs. I love Raw Raw Life. I saw it in their faces in their bodies and in their struggles. I like to read about the struggles cause I know this won’t be easy.

It was also where I got my plan of action. Any challenge needs a plan of action. What I’d need, how’d I’d manage it all and who I could call on for support.

I’d bought a nutribullet a few months earlier and had been making killer smoothies and thought I’d start with that to make my juices. I couldn’t afford an expensive juicer but through this process, I plan to get one. People have complained that cleaning traditional juicers are a pain in the next but I find that the nutribullet is super easy to clean. It mixes it all up together not separating the pulp from the fruit or Veggie like a traditional juicer would.

On a juice fast, its customary to drink 64 unces of juice and 3 liters of water a day just to get the amount of nutrients your body needs. It’s important also to the cleansing.  Sabrina Nelson, over at the DIA last Friday night said to drink more water that juice to speed the flushing process. I’ve found drinking that large amount of juice and water difficult. Most of the time my stomach is full.  Yes full and pretty satisfied, for now.

Next week cravings.